As of: January 24, 2024, 4:44 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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Russian President Vladimir Putin with the relatives of soldiers killed in the Ukraine war at a church service (picture from January 7, 2024).
© IMAGO/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool/Zuma Wire
Russia seeks to suppress any form of dissent.
A new law is intended to make things even more difficult for opponents of the war: the draft provides for the confiscation of property.
Moscow - The noose around war opponents in Russia is tightening: Moscow discussed on Monday (January 22) a draft law to confiscate money, property and valuables from people who are accused of spreading “false information” about the army and the Ukraine war were found guilty.
The Kremlin makes little secret of the fact that the law is aimed at opponents of the war.
Including mothers and wives of conscripted soldiers.
Confiscation of property: Russia's new law targets opponents of Ukraine war
Since the start of Russia's invasion of its neighboring country, Moscow has passed several laws targeting Kremlin critics and the war in Ukraine.
Prison sentences of up to 15 years are envisaged for critical statements about the army.
Thousands of opponents of the Russian military operation are already in prison.
The now planned law further increases the pressure on the critics.
The new draft law will be introduced into the Duma on Monday, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Saturday.
The Duma is the lower house of the Russian parliament.
Russian state media reports that all major parliamentary groups support the draft.
“Anyone who tries to destroy and betray Russia must receive the punishment he deserves and compensate for the damage he has caused to the country with his property,” Volodin wrote on the Telegram online service.
The measure is intended to punish “rogues” who “smear our country, soldiers and officers participating in the special military operation.”
Opposing the Ukraine War: Legal experts on the Kremlin's draft law in Russia
Legal experts warn that the law also makes it easier to punish war opponents who have fled the country.
The new regulation is primarily aimed at combating the "enemy within" - "war opponents who spread their opinions and try to convince others," Maria Nemova, a lawyer with the human rights group Memorial, told the
Guardian
.
The fees of journalists or researchers could also be confiscated.
The bill would give Russian law enforcement authorities a “new tool to put pressure on those who disagree with the policies of the Russian authorities,” Evgeny Smirnov, the head of the First Department law firm, told the
Guardian
.
War opponents would therefore run the risk of the Russian state confiscating apartments, cars and other property that was acquired before the crime was committed.
The new law would also affect protesting mothers and wives of mobilized soldiers in Russia
Due to the already severe punishments and state propaganda, resistance rarely appears on Russian streets.
Recently, a few people protested - not against the war, but because of heating failures at temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees.
Every now and then there are critical comments about the military operation online.
On Thursday, a Russian human rights activist was sentenced to three years in prison.
The court ruled that he had “discredited” the Russian army in a comment published on online networks.
But anti-war protests are few and far between.
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Until the end of last year, the women and mothers of mobilized soldiers took to the streets in Moscow.
Among them was “Anna,” who mingled with communists on the anniversary of the October Revolution last year and held up a poster with the inscription: “My husband is not a soldier,” as ZDF reported.
The demand: Moscow should bring their husbands and sons home.
Beating the mothers and women like other demonstrators, arresting them and giving them heavy sentences would have created unfavorable images and possibly also affected the morale of the troops at the front.
In this case, the state power was relatively at a loss.
The demonstration was ended by the police within a few minutes, according to the intelligence report from the Ministry of Defense in London.
But the women's demand was “remarkable,” said the British.
The women also held bumper sticker campaigns, posted video messages on social networks and made Christmas decorations in December with the slogan: "Bring Dad Home." Given the upcoming presidential election in Russia, this exposure is inconvenient for Vladimir Putin.
With the new law, the resistance of women and mothers could now be broken in a roundabout way.
The new law on confiscating the property of war opponents is not yet in force, but this is considered a formality - and is therefore only a matter of time.